35
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70IGNMatt FowlerIGNMatt FowlerCoffee & Kareem keeps it simple, short, and to the (ultra) violent point as a raunchy cop comedy with clever jokes, zany action, and fun chemistry between leads Ed Helms and young Terrence Little Gardenhigh. It's a small cast but everyone in it is pretty funny, and the director easily knows how to craft a compelling mismatched partner scenario.
- 58IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandWhile the film is understandably concerned with its titular characters — Ed Helms as straight-edge Detroit cop James Coffee, young star Terrence Little Gardenhigh as his plucky pre-teen foil Kareem — its real standouts are supporting talents like Gilpin and Taraji P. Henson, who end up holding together a film that perhaps should have focused on them instead (cutesy title to come).
- 42The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerThe A.V. ClubJesse HassengerBad plotting would be relegated to the realm of incidental if Coffee & Kareem were funnier—isn’t that always the way? Unfortunately, the movie spends a lot of time handing Helms underlined jokes, which he proceeds to underline again with his why-did-I-just-say-that delivery.
- 40The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeIt’s a strange movie that can seem mildly interested in tackling bigger issues before swiftly backing down.
- 40VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeShane Mack’s screenplay is not without laughs, but it is certainly lacking in prudence.
- 38RogerEbert.comNick AllenRogerEbert.comNick AllenCoffee & Kareem is stock R-rated buddy-cop comedy shenanigans by way of cuteness, and it ain't "Stuber."
- 30The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMaking a film that feels two days long is not the same thing as making 48 Hrs.
- The buddy cop movie genre is by all means worth interrogating as conversations around institutional racism and police brutality continue. But this film’s jabs are dull and sophomoric.
- 10Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinThe movie is disturbingly reckless, needlessly brutal and deeply homophobic. Later attempts to wedge in a few nice moments between James and Kareem fall flat.
- 0Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversHelms, a master jester on The Office, seems to have forgotten everything he’s ever learned about comic timing to judge by fiasco. Since Coffee and Kareem also credits Helms as a producer, he has only himself to blame.